Baking & Pastry

Pâte Sucrée

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Pâte Sucrée is a classic French sweet tart dough used as the base for fruit tarts, chocolate tarts, lemon tarts and custard tarts. Unlike pie dough, it is mixed using the creaming method, producing a fine, crisp, cookie-like texture. Because it contains sugar and eggs, it browns more easily and provides excellent flavor, structure and stability for moist fillings.

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Technical Notes:

• Butter provides tenderness by coating flour particles and limiting gluten development.

• Sugar sweetens the dough and contributes to browning and crispness.

• Eggs provide moisture, richness and help bind the dough together.

• Minimal mixing after adding flour prevents excessive gluten formation.

• Chilling relaxes the gluten and solidifies the butter, reducing shrinkage during baking.

• Blind baking is often used to produce a crisp shell before adding fillings.

Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière)

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Pastry Cream is a classic French custard thickened with egg yolks and cornstarch. It is one of the five fundamental pastry creams and is widely used as a filling for fruit tarts, éclairs, cream puffs, mille-feuille, cakes and many other desserts. A properly made pastry cream should be smooth, glossy, stable and free of lumps.

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Technical Notes:

• Egg yolks provide richness, color and natural emulsification.

• Cornstarch thickens the custard and helps prevent the eggs from curdling.

• Tempering gradually raises the temperature of the eggs to prevent scrambling.

• The custard must be brought briefly to a boil to fully gelatinize the starch and remove the raw starch flavor.

• Butter is added at the end for a smoother mouthfeel and richer flavor.

• Cover the surface with plastic wrap while cooling to prevent a skin from forming.